August 17, 2015

Cats: Red or Blue?

Democrats v. Republicans. Cats v. dogs. How do they relate? A few years ago, the American Veterinary Medical Association researched preference of house pet in red and blue states with an unsurprising result: red states have the highest rate of dog ownership, and blue states are more likely to have cats as pets.

Nine of the top ten states for dog ownerships voted for Mitt Romney in 2012, despite Romney’s leaving his dog Seamus in a carrier on the car roof for a 12-hour road trip. Nine of the ten states with the fewest dogs per household voted for President Obama, in spite of the Bo, the First Dog. Four of the top five cat-loving states voted for the president although California, at 28.3 percent feline owning households, has one of the lowest rates of cat ownership. Cats in the United States do rule—74.1 million pet cats to 70 million pet dogs.

Four years ago, Keith Koffler tried to persuade his readers that cats are Republicans because they like freedom and don’t follow rules. Dogs herd sheep, help the blind, and sniff out bombs—showing that they like government jobs—according to Koffler.